QNA/Doha
*The opening match on November 21 will begin a group stage that will feature four matches a day for 12 days, spread over eight stadiums around Qatar
*Final confirmed to take place at 80,000-seat Lusail Stadium at 6pm on December 18 *Ticket sales for the general public will be conducted solely via FIFA.com/tickets
*Hospitality sales are scheduled to start in late 2020
The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) on Wednesday announced that Al Bayt Stadium will be the stage for hosts Qatar to kick off the tournament on Monday, November 21, 2022 at 1pm local time (11:00 CET).
Al Bayt Stadium, the 60,000-capacity arena, takes its name and shape from the traditional tents used by nomadic peoples in the Gulf region.
The local kick-off times for group matches have been set for 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and 10pm, with the simultaneous kick-offs for the last round of group games and knockout-stage timings being 6pm and 10pm.
Khalifa International Stadium will be the setting for the play-off for third place on December 17.
The final will kick off one day later at 6pm at Lusail Stadium in front of an 80,000 crowd.
The iconic image of FIFA World Cup champions France lifting the trophy at Luzhniki Stadium is still fresh in the memory of every football fan.
Exactly two years after that historic occasion on July15, 2018, the unveiling of the match schedule for the next edition invites the football world to dream of a new beginning, one that now has a precise time and place to start, the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) said.
With the aim of providing all teams with optimal rest between their matches, the group stage will last 12 days and, with four matches per day, it promises a full and exciting schedule for fans.
The tournament’s compact nature with no air travel needed to move between the venues will allow organisers, for the first time, to optimise specific match demands for the benefit and comfort of fans, teams and media.
This will be achieved through the assignment of the group fixtures for each match day to a stadium and kick-off time only after the final draw, currently planned for after the March 2022 international match calendar qualifying window.
Once the pairings are known, the possibility will be discussed of providing a more beneficial kick-off time for audiences at home, or indeed for fans in Qatar with regard to the stadium allocation.
That additional flexibility is possible without affecting any technical aspects since all stadiums are located within a compact radius and the climate is perfect at that time of the year in Qatar, whether it is an early or a late kick-off.
On top of that, this will potentially give fans the opportunity to attend more than one match a day during the group stage.
For those eager to book their seats at Qatar 2022, hospitality sales are scheduled to start in late 2020.
Ticket sales for the general public will be conducted solely via FIFA.com/tickets, where details on the timeline, phases, categories and prices will be communicated in due course.
